Quarry's Deal

This reissue of Collins's third Quarry novel, originally published in 1976 as The Dealer, showcases the author's talent for crafting hard-boiled suspense. A list of fellow assassins that the hit man has retrieved from his late middleman, the Broker, has given him a brilliant idea. Following one of these killers could lead him to a potential target, whose murder he could offer to prevent for a fee. After laying low in his Wisconsin home following his killing of a federal agent, Quarry picks a name off the list and heads to Florida to check out the intended victim of an alluring killer called Glenna Cole. When Glenna moves on, Quarry follows her to West Lake, Iowa, where she's posing as a bartender in a private gambling club. The hit man ends up mixing the personal with the professional when he becomes emotionally involved with Glenna, even as he identifies her prey and tries to profit from that information. Fans of spare but effective prose in the service of a taut thriller will be satisfied. (Jan.)